A Word about “Desert Pete”

A Word about “Desert Pete”

It was decades ago, and the group called themselves The Kingston Trio. So, you are thinking, “The Who?” And I am saying, “No, not ‘The Who,’ The Kingston Trio! Now pay attention!”

I was a kid, of course, and I loved their music! But I was especially impressed with a song called “Desert Pete.”

We don’t know much about Pete, but we do know that he could read and write and that he had some very important “down home” wisdom that he passed along to any others who would listen.

The narrator of the song was apparently a cattle drover, a loner, traveling across the desert “under a hot, blisterin’ sun.”

On this particular day, he was suffering from exhaustion and thirst, when he spied an old, hand-operated water pump. The pump was completely dry as was the landscape around it, but he found a note with instructions and cautions about the operation of the pump.

The note was from Desert Pete. (Click on the image below, and in less than 3 minutes, you will learn the rest of the story.)

It seems there is a “right” way and a “wrong” way to pump the water. More accurately, a selfless way and an unselfish way. Either way, you are going to bring water to the surface. You will be able to wash your face and cool your feet. The difference is how you leave the pump when you are finished with it.

Are you in this only for yourself, or are you thinking about those who will come after you?

“Desert Pete” made a deep impression on me at a relatively young age, and I will always remember this profound life lesson.

I hope your bottle is full today, and I hope you leave the bottle full for others!